Agendas, reports and minutes

Note of Meeting of the Chief Officers’ Group held in Committee Room 1, Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness on Tuesday 7 November 2017 at 2.00 pm.
     
Present:    
    
Representing the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA):
Mr D Cameron (Substitute)

Representing the Highland Council (HC):
Mr S Barron
Mr B Alexander
Mr S Black
Mr W Gilfillan
Ms A Clark

Representing Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE):
Mr J Gibbs

Representing High Life Highland (HLH):
Mr I Murray

Representing NHS Highland (NHSH):
Ms E Mead
Mrs J Baird
Ms C Steer

Representing Police Scotland (PS):
Ch Supt G Macdonald

Representing Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS):
Mr M Loynd (Substitute)

Representing the Scottish Government (SG):
Dr D Mackinnon

Representing Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH):
Mr G Hogg

Representing Skills Development Scotland (SDS):
Ms S Sheridan (Substitute)

Supporting the Chief Officers Group:
Ms E Johnston

In attendance:

Mr I Kyle, Children’s Planning Manager, Highland Council
Miss M Murray, Committee Administrator, Highland Council

Mr S Barron in the Chair

Business

1.    Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Mr G Moir, Mr D Yule, Mr D Oxley, Ms M Wylie, Mr J MacDonald, Ms S Campbell, Ms D Rawlinson and Mr P Mascarenhas.
    
2.    Chief Officers’ Group – Note of Meeting

The Note of Meeting of the Chief Officers’ Group on 22 September 2017 was APPROVED.

In relation to item 5 – Supporting more community action and community-run services – the Acting Head of Policy, Highland Council, explained that the Community Action Subgroup had met to progress matters and would report back to the next COG.

The Group NOTED the position.
    
3.    Community Planning Board – Minutes and Action Sheet

The draft Minutes and the Action Sheet of the Community Planning Board on 4 October 2017 were NOTED.

The Chair referred to the challenging discussions that had taken place at the Board and suggested that, in the event that a consensus could not be reached at either the COG or Board, it was legitimate to have a vote.

Following discussion, particularly in relation to the need to more clearly define the role of the various components of the community planning structure, the Group AGREED that, in future, the Chair of the COG would have a discussion with the Chair of the Board in advance of the Board to clarify what the expectations were in terms of decisions.
    
4.    NHS Highland Update
    
The Chief Executive, NHS Highland, provided a detailed verbal update on the redesign of health services in Skye and Caithness.  The driver behind the proposals, which had the support of the Cabinet Secretary, was the long-term sustainability of services and communities.  However, there was concern amongst local communities regarding the perceived loss of services.   

During discussion, links were made to the findings of the Commission on Highland Democracy, and the facilitated “charrette” approach which had been successfully utilised by the Council’s Development and Infrastructure Service.

The Group NOTED the update and the need for public sector partners to collaborate around change and communications.
    
5.    Developing Community Partnerships – Update

There had been circulated Report No COG/09/17 by the Community Partnerships Subgroup.

Following discussion, during which the Director of Care and Learning, Highland Council, raised concerns regarding the lack of Community Learning and Development (CLD) input into locality plans and the potential legislative risks, the Group AGREED:

i.    the governance structures proposed for Community Partnership plans as set out in appendices 1, 2 and 3 of the report;
ii.    that consideration be given to a risk management process; and
iii.    that the requirements in terms of CLD and the role of CLD leads be reinforced at the Community Partnership Chairs group.
    
6.    Implementation of the HOIP Action Plan

There had been circulated Report No COG/10/17 by the HOIP Subgroup.

Following discussion, the Group:

i.    AGREED that Highland Third Sector Interface take on the role of lead partner to co-ordinate the development of a one year communication and engagement strategy;
ii.    AGREED that each statutory partner nominate a representative to enable the communication and engagement strategy to be developed and delivered;
iii.    AGREED the proposed workshop in January 2018 to engage thematic groups in the review of the CPP structure;
iv.    AGREED that all partners conduct internal discussion on the HOIP themes and outcomes to determine how they could contribute to their delivery; and
v.    NOTED that the Communication and Engagement Group was not limited to statutory partners and that other partners were welcome to nominate representatives to provide as broad an input as possible.
    
7.    Community Justice Partnership (CJP) – Governance

On behalf of the Chair of the CJP, the Director of Care and Learning, Highland Council, provided an update on community justice issues including the recent participatory budgeting event, “Small Change for Justice”; the forthcoming development day to look at the next three-year plan which, it was anticipated, would be presented to the Community Planning Board in March 2018; and a submission to The Big Lottery Fund in relation to a women’s community justice project.

The substantive issue in terms of what powers relevant partners would delegate to the Community Justice Partnership would come back to a future meeting and would also need to fit in with the review of Safer Highland and the other thematic groups.

The Group NOTED the position.
    
8.    Commission on Highland Democracy – Findings – Executive Summary

There had been circulated Report No COG/11/17 by the Community and Democratic Engagement Manager, Highland Council.

Following discussion on the implications for the CPP, the Group:

i.    NOTED the findings of the Commission;
ii.    NOTED that the Interim Report was available on the Commission’s website and could be shared within partner organisations (https://highlanddemocracy.wordpress.com);
iii.    AGREED that it be fed back to the Commission that the need to “close the loop” so that communities that had participated in local decision-making could see the impact they had made did not come through strongly in the findings;
iv.    AGREED that it would helpful to reflect on the findings of the Commission when developing the CPP Communication and Engagement Strategy; and
v.    NOTED that the Chair of the Commission had indicated that he would be happy to attend a future meeting of the Community Planning Board and AGREED that consideration be given to recording his presentation so that it could be shared more widely.
    
9.    Feedback on the HIE Strengthening Communities National Conference – 21/22 September 2017

The Area Manager, Inner Moray Firth, HIE, provided feedback on the recent National Conference on Strengthening Communities which, it was explained, had been well-attended and had been rated positively by participants.  The workshops that had been recognised as being particularly useful were “Putting the Community into Community Planning”, Encouraging Participation”, “Enterprising Communities” and “Engaging your Community”.  The emphasis had been relevant to the CPP in terms of empowering communities and encouraging participation, and it was intended to repeat the conference in the future.

The Chair having commented that he had anticipated some insights and additions to the partners’ knowledge base, the Group:

i.    NOTED the feedback and that the slides pertaining to the conference would be circulated to partners for information;
ii.    AGREED that a more detailed update be provided to the next meeting of the COG; and
iii.    AGREED that it be fed back to HIE’s Chief Executive that the CPP wished HIE to be key player and a more active contribution to the agenda would be welcomed.
    
10.    Participatory Budgeting - Update

There had been circulated Report No COG/12/17 by the Community and Democratic Engagement Manager, Highland Council.

Following discussion, particularly in relation to how LEADER funding sat within wider participatory budgeting processes and the scope for working with public and private sector partners to identify match funding and minimise the associated bureaucracy, the Group:

i.    NOTED the update on the development of participatory budgeting and the potential opportunities for enhanced partnership approaches;
ii.    NOTED that the Council’s Community and Democratic Engagement Manager would liaise with partners if they wished to discuss participatory budgeting within their respective organisations; and
iii.    AGREED that information on the outputs and outcomes arising from participatory budgeting events/processes be shared across Community Partnerships.
    
11.    Apprenticeship Levy

Stephen Sheridan, Skills Planning Manager, Skills Development Scotland, gave a presentation on the UK Apprenticeship Levy and the Scottish Government response, which included investment in Foundation, Modern and Graduate Level Apprenticeships; workforce development; and pre-employment support.

Following discussion, particularly in relation to what additionality could be expected in terms of outcomes and opportunities to utilise apprenticeships to address recruitment gaps in Highland, the Group:

i.    NOTED the presentation and AGREED that it be circulated to partners for information; and
ii.    AGREED that information on apprenticeships in the land management sector be provided to the Unit Manager – South Highland, SNH.
    
12.    New Breakthrough Achievement

Further to discussions at the previous COG, the Group was asked to discuss and define a new breakthrough achievement for the CPP around the area of mental health and suicide prevention.

Ch Supt Macdonald, Police Scotland, provided information on the high incidence of male suicide in Highland and undertook to redact and share an associated analytical report.  It was suggested that partners needed to do as much as possible to support health and wellbeing within their respective organisations and that, collectively, it was necessary to raise the profile of suicide prevention.

The Head of Health Improvement suggested that another possible option for a breakthrough achievement was the “Walk a Mile” initiative, which the Scottish Government was keen to extend into workplaces.

Following discussion on the importance of effectively addressing suicide prevention and awareness, and the associated challenges, particularly in terms of communication, the Group:

i.    AGREED that further work was required to articulate a breakthrough achievement in relation to suicide prevention and that Ch Supt Macdonald work with relevant partners with a view to presenting to the Community Planning Board on 19 December 2017, failing which the Chief Officers’ Group on 20 February 2018;
ii.    AGREED that consideration be given to liaising with Shetland Islands Council/CPP who had experience in the area of suicide prevention; and
iii.    NOTED the “Walk a Mile” initiative as another potential option for partnership action.
    
12a.    Additional Item:
CPP Community Empowerment Action Learning Programme

The Acting Head of Policy, Highland Council, referred to an email that had been circulated regarding an offer from the Improvement Service to take part in an Action Learning Programme focussed on improving the participation and engagement of communities in community planning, particularly around Local Outcome Improvement Plans and locality planning processes.  Partners were asked to consider whether they would be interested in taking up the offer.  

Following discussion, the Group AGREED not to participate in the Action Learning Programme. 
    
13.    Future Agenda Items

Community Planning Board – 19 December 2017

The Group AGREED to recommend the following:

    •    Developing Community Partnerships – Update
    •    Implementation of the HOIP Action Plan
    •    Community Justice Partnership – Governance
    •    Participatory Budgeting
    •    Proposed New Breakthrough Achievement (failing which to the COG on 20 February 2017)
    •    Commission on Highland Democracy (subject to confirmation of launch date)
    •    Skills Investment Plan/Talent Attraction and Retention
    
Chief Officers’ Group – 20 February 2017

The Group AGREED the following:

    •    National Developments across Child Protection and Adult Support and Protection – Impact on Chief Officer Group Structure
    •    The Participation Measure – report highlighting the issues on which the CPP might focus
    •    English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
    •    Supporting more community action and community-run services
    •    Accessibility/Transport – feedback from Community Partnerships
    •    CivTech: harnessing new technologies to improve public sector services
    •    Developing Community Partnerships – Update
    •    Implementation of the HOIP Action Plan – Update (including feedback from Communications and Engagement Group)
    •    Review of CPP Structure
    
It was further AGREED that the formal launch of the Active Highland Strategy be arranged to coincide with the Chief Officers’ Group on 20 February 2017.
    
14.    Future Meeting Dates

The Group NOTED that the next meeting was scheduled to take place at 2.00 pm on Tuesday 20 February 2018 and that dates for the remainder of 2018 would be confirmed in due course.

The meeting ended at 4.45 pm.